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Lost now on the country miles in his Cadillac I can tell by the way you smile he is rolling back Come wash the nighttime clean Come grow the scorched ground green

(Grateful Dead)

So much for a nice, slow Friday! The tape is muddled in mire, Mr. Fokker's on fire, the Minx can't run higher, Boo's joining a choir, my belly's a tire and I wanna retire (at least for the weekend). All the while, the market just jack-knifed on the Santa Ana and there's manure all over the place! Toss on those boots, mon frere, and let's slosh through the muck.

While the reversal from the giggly morning was pretty harsh, the only "event" I could find was that the UN was sending troops to the Ivory Coast. Now, I have ZERO idea if this had anything to do with our market--it would kinda shock me if it did--but that's all I found. Regardless, the trap door caught alotta bulls going the wrong way (how do they know where we're going?) and they're now lookin' pa nub.

It's still very quiet (read: no volume) and breadth is hanging tough in the S's (while down for the N's). That's consistent with our lead sector tells--the SOX are barely above 500 (KLAC just broke the 200-day) but the banks are sticky green (and eyeballing the pennant). Dichotomy? You betcha--S's over N's, baby, it's been that way and it's still that way. The only question is which way the wishbone is gonna break.

It doesn't appear that we'll have to wait long to find out. With NASDAQ uber-support a sniffle kiss away--which happens to coincide with a potential lower low--all eyes on you, Boo, as you claim your steak. One thing for certain, the schvitz is gonna hit the fan next week when Intel (INTC:NASD) cashes in their chips on Thursday and reports their mid-quarter update.

The macro arena is pretty quiet--gold is up a deuce, silver holds its gains (after yesterday's impressive upside reversal), crude is a percent higher, the dollar is marginally lower, fixed income is firm and Europe is plus/minus. That little flurry was over in a hurry and now we're looking at a Minx in headlights. I would point out that the sector rotation theme is still in vogue--energy (drillers), retail, biotechs and the homies all act relatively dry.

Finally, not to beat a dead Fokker, please check out the earlier post on instructions to the Buzz & Banter desk top alert feature. Today's the last day of gratis surfing, so to speak, and you should receive an email that will allow you to "opt in" or "opt out" of the 'Ville (on any and all levels). I sincerely hope that you'll stay a part of the Minyan adventure and continue this fantastic voyage. We're committed to making a difference and that starts with you!